Sara Mitra 6tet in-depth live review from The Jazz Mann

The Jazz Mann review of Brecon Jazz Festival 2011

“Singer and songwriter Sara Mitra’s début album “April Song” attracted a compelling degree of critical acclaim not just on this site but also from more influential commentators such as Jamie Cullum and Gilles Peterson. I caught part of Mitra’s set at the Market Hall which found her in the company of most of the members of the very classy band that graces her album. James Allsopp (reeds), Fulvio Sigurta (trumpet), Ross Stanley (piano, organ ), Riaan Vosloo (double bass) and Mitra’s husband Tim Giles (drums) are among the UK’s foremost jazz musicians and all contributed substantially to a well programmed and highly convincing performance by the singer.

Mitra proved to be a surprisingly compelling and confident performer with a wide vocal and emotional range. I arrived just in time to catch a Sigurta trumpet solo but the first song I heard in its entirety was “Understand”, scheduled to appear on Mitra’s second album, with its sly lyrical allusions to the jazz standard “All Of Me”.

The Rogers and Hart tune “To Keep My Love Alive” was a blackly humorous tale about a female serial killer, a kind of “black widow” character and was delivered with obvious relish by Mitra with Ross Stanley taking the instrumental honours at the piano.

At this point the band left the stage leaving Mitra alone with her RC20XL live looper for a delicately layered solo vocal rendition of the traditional Irish folk song “Black Is The Colour”, a tune which appears on “April Song” and represents Mitra’s acknowledgement of her part Irish heritage.

The band rejoined her for the jazz standard “Who Can I Turn To” with Allsopp on tenor and Stanley on piano impressing as instrumental soloists. Pared down to a quartet with Stanley on organ and with Vosloo as featured soloist Mitra and the group then delivered a beautiful version of Nat Adderley’s “The Old Country”, another tune sourced from the “April Song” album.

Next came the playful, Latin tinged “Going Home Alone” from the yet to be released second album played by the quartet with Stanley excelling at the piano. The horns then returned for “Let Me Love You” with Allsopp on bass clarinet and Stanley soloing at the organ.

An excellent set concluded with the song “Love Affair” with Stanley still on organ and with Allsopp delivering a superb solo on the tenor.

I’m not always a big fan of singers but I was highly impressed by Mitra. If “April Song” hints at a certain fragility her live performances are anything but. Mitra’s sassiness and excellent technical skills suggest that a degree of mainstream success awaits if she wants it. Many of her band members are into more experimental projects but their versatility suggests that they enjoy playing in this context too- and of course the standard of musicianship is superb. The chances are we’ll be hearing a lot more of Sara Mitra.” Ian Mann, The Jazz Mann review

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Jazz FM review of Sara Mitra 6tet@Brecon

Sebastian Scotney review of Brecon Jazz Festival 2011 for Jazz FM

“Another Brecon highlight was Sara Mitra‘s afternoon gig in the Market Hall. This was a personal landmark event for this inspiring young singer. If debut albums are very often destined to sit indefinitely in the same boxes they arrive in, Mitra has bucked that trend. She told me gleefully after the gig that the last copies of her first album ‘April Song’ had completely sold out. This wasn’t a big suprise to me because she’s developing quite a following. Both Jamie Cullum and Gilles Peterson have heaped praise on this first album, Cullum for her sheer quality and Peterson for her very individual Englishness. But hearing her live, one gets a strong sense that she has already moved forward since making that debut recording. The voice can be small-scale, teasing, delicate. But (maybe recent motherhood makes a difference, how would I know?) when she turns on the gas, she has the power to both soar over and cut through the band’s textures. And the band is a Rolls-Royce of top UK players, capable of establishing the very different character of each of the songs right from the start. James Allsopp is an awesomely-equipped saxophone player who can switch effortlessly from soothing mainstream tenor in the manner of Zoot Sims to free and forceful bass clarinet taking forwards the legacy of Eric Dolphy. Fulvio Sigurta is a poetic trumpeter who always has a story to tell. Riaan Vosloo is one of the most musicianly bassists around, Ross Stanley the in-demand pianist and organist, and Tim Giles is an instinctively creative drummer who always has a surprise up his sleeve.” Sebastian Scotney, Jazz FM

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Sara Mitra 6tet review in Venue magazine

Brecon Jazz Festival Review in Venue magazine, by Tony Benjamin

“…the first ‘discovery’ of the weekend; vocalist Sara Mitra appearing over in the Market Hall with pretty much the whole of Nostalgia 77 behind her. Presenting with all the charming stagecraft of a classic jazz singer, her chirpily delivered ‘love’ songs are actually barbed and cynically realistic cautionary tales bursting with musical ebullience. It’s a bitter-sweet cocktail made compelling by her superb voice and the band’s shimmering presence” Tony Benjamin, Venue Magazine.

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Brecon Jazz Festival 2011, Telegraph Review

Brecon Jazz Festival 2011, Review of Saturday 13th August, The Telegraph.

“Allen Toussaint, Monty Alexander, Sara Mitra and Phronesis were some of the major acts delighting the festival goers at Brecon… Mitra wowed audiences in the Market Hall with a set that also showcased great sax playing from James Allsopp.” Martin Chilton, The Daily Telegraph.

Sara Mitra Vortex gig 10.08.11

The Vortex Jazz Club is currently open for business as usual, and will host the Sara Mitra 6tet gig Wednesday 10th August 2011. However, due to the current situation in East London, it may be necessary to postpone this gig at short notice. Please call ahead to the venue before attending. The Vortex box office telephone number is 020 7254 4097. Thanks to Gwen@The Vortex for the update.

Sara Mitra/Alice Russell/Emily Wright interview in The Daily Telegraph, 04/08/11

Sara Mitra/Alice Russell/Emily Wright interview in The Daily Telegraph, 04/08/11.

“Three especially talented names among this new wave of jazz singers will be at this year’s Brecon Jazz Festival.
Alice Russell, the most senior of them, has one of those deep, bluesy-soulful voices that we always thought only Americans could produce. She’s just released a new album, Pot of Gold. Sara Mitra and Emily Wright have both recently released debut albums, Mitra with her own band, Wright with guitarist Jon Hyde. In their different ways they strike a quieter, more intimate note. All three perform their own songs, as well as standards.
The results are terrific.” Ivan Hewett, The Daily Telegraph